EXCHANGE 


SENECA  IN  CORSICA 


ELI  EDWARD   BURRISS 


sr 


NEW   YORK   UNIVERSITY 
1922 


SENECA  IN  CORSICA 


ELI  EDWARD  BURRISS,  A.  NL,  PH.  D. 


THIS  THESIS  HAS  BEEN  ACCEPTED  BY  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  NEW 
YORK  UNIVERSITY,  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIRE- 
MENTS FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY. 


To 

DR.  E.  G.  SIHLER 

OF 

NEW  YORK  UNIVERSITY 
WITH  GRATITUDE  AND  AFFECTION 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA 


INTRODUCTION 

The  inconsistent  and  tragic  career  of  Nero's  mentor 
will  always  pique  the  interest  of  the  student  of  the  tem- 
peramental genius.  On  the  score  of  "temperament" 
much  atrocious  viciousness  has  been  sugared  over.  In- 
consistency and  lack  of  moral  fibre  are  often  yoke-fellows 
of  brilliant  creative  ability,  but  art  per  se  is  unmoral, 
and  a  work  of  art,  the  coinage  of  one's  brain,  should  be 
judged  on  its  own  merits. 

Seneca  was  monstrously  inconsistent,  guilty  of  indirec- 
tion, a  lover  of  the  pomp  and  purple  of  the  court,  per- 
ad venture  even  morally  oblique  from  the  view-point  of 
those  trained  to  the  home-bred  virtues,  at  least  his 
reputation  at  Rome  was  ragged;  but  we  must  remember 
that  Seneca  never  posed  as  a  paragon  of  virtue.  Not  in- 
frequently in  his  "Letters  to  Lucilius"  he  confesses  past 
lapses:  "non  de  me  nunc  tecum  loquor,  qui  multum  ab 
homine  tolerabili,  nedum  a  perfecto  absum,  sed  de  illo, 
in  quern  fortuna  ius  perdidit:"  (Epist.  Ivii.  3.) 

Maugre  all  this,  he  was  a  man  of  surprisingly  fresh 
intellect,  of  glittering  attainments,  a  creator  of  many 
golden  opinions,  a  master  of  sparkling  rhetoric,  and  a 
philosopher  and  ethical  teacher  of  no  mean  water — all 
of  which  has  rightly  guaranteed  for  him  a  passport  to 
fame. 

In  this  dissertation,  I  shall  limit  myself  to  the  period 
from  the  time  when  the  poignant  jealousy  of  Valeria 
Messalina  drove  both  Seneca  and  Julia  Livilla,  the  lovely, 
albeit  dissolute  sister  of  Caligula,  into  exile  (41  A.  D.), 
until  the  ambitious  Agrippina  effected  Seneca's  recall, 
after  the  murder  of  Messalina  (49  A.  D.). 

While  by  no  means  overlooking  modern  works,  I  have 
spared  no  pains  in  examining  the  ancient  source  ma- 
terial; and  wherever  possible,  I  have  had  Seneca  speak 
for  himself. 

The  principal  ancient  sources  for  the  exile  period  are : 
Seneca's  "Ad  Polybium  De  Consolatione,"  "Ad  Helviam 
De  Consolatione,"  "Epigrammata,"  many  of  which  were 
written  in  Corsica,  the  "Naturales  Quaestiones,"  (Lib. 


500G33 


4  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

iv.  a  Praef.  13—16),  the  "History  of  Rome"  of  Dio 
Cassius,  the  "Annales"  of  Tacitus,  the  "De  Vita  Caes- 
arum,"  of  Suetonius,  and  the  scholion  on  Juvenal  v.  109. 

For  the  account  of  the  island  of  Corsica,  I  have  made 
much  use  of  Seneca's  own  record  in  the  "Ad  Helviam" 
and  the  "Ad  Polybium,"  and  that  of  Strabo  in  his  "Geog- 
raphy," with  historical  references  culled  from  Herodotus. 
Justinian's  "Digest"  is  the  source  for  the  Roman  law  on 
"relegatio." 

Of  modern  works,  Sihler's  "Testimonium  Animae" 
treats  of  the  philosopher  from  the  view-point  of  the 
scholar  in  quest  of  the  spiritual  elements  in  classical 
civilization;  the  chapters  in  Dean  Farrar's  "Seekers 
After  God"  are  full,  but  Farrar's  tendency  is  to  exculpate 
Seneca's  offences;  Holland  has  one  excellent  chapter  and 
a  part  of  a  second,  keeping  the  general  reader,  not  the 
scholar  in  mind.  The  dissertation  of  Leopold  on  the 
exiles  of  Cicero,  Ovid,  and  Seneca  is  often  suggestive. 
Lehmann's  volume  on  "Claudius  und  Nero"  is  especially 
helpful  for  the  historical  background.  Dr.  Jahn's  docto- 
rate dissertation  is  important  for  evaluating  the  ancient 
sources.  Most  of  the  other  modern  works  which,  for 
completeness  sake,  I  have  listed  in  my  bibliography,  treat 
of  Seneca  as  part  of  a  larger  theme — the  history,  litera- 
ture, political  or  social  life  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ANCIENT  SOURCES 

Lucius  Annaeus  Seneca: 

Dialog!  xii.  (Emil  Hermes,  Leipzig,  1905). 

Naturales  Quaestiones  (Alfred  Gercke,  Leipzig,  1907). 

Epigrammata  (Baehrens:  Poetae  Latini  Minores,  vol. 
iv.  Leipzig,  1882). 

Epistulae  Morales  (Otto  Hense,  Leipzig,  1914). 

Dio  Cassius:  History  of  Rome  (U.  P.  Boissevain,  1895- 
1901). 

Marcus  Valerius  Martialis:  Epigrammata  (W.  M. 
Lindsay,  Oxford,  1902). 

Strabo:  Geographia  (Meineke,  Leipzig,  1877). 

Gaius  Suetonius  Tranquillus:  De  Vita  Caesarum  Libri 
viii.  (Maximilian  Ihm,  Leipzig,  1908). 

Cornelius  Tacitus:  Annales  (C.  D.  Fisher,  Oxford, 
1906) . 

Flavius  Anicius  Justinianus:  Digesta  vol.  ii.  (Momm- 
sen,  Berlin,  1870). 


MODERN  WORKS 

Ball,  Allan,  P.:  Selected  Essays  of  Seneca  (New  York, 
1916). 

Baring  -Gould,  S. :  The  Tragedy  Of  The  Caesars,  vol.  ii. 
(London,  1893). 

Butler,  H.  E.:  Post-Augustan  Poetry  (Oxford,  1909). 

Caird,  L.  H.:  The  History  of  Corsica  (London,  1899). 

Clinton,  H.  F.:  Fasti  Romani  vol.  i.  (Oxford,  1845). 

Dill,  Samuel:  Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marcus 
Aurelius  (London,  1911). 

Domaszewski,  Alfred  Von :  Geschichte  der  Roemischen 
Kaiser  (Leipzig,  1909). 

Duff,  J.  D. :  Senecae  Dialogorum  Libri  x,  xi,  xii. 
(Cambridge,  1915). 

Farrar,  F.  W.:  Seekers  After  God  (London,  1881). 

Ferrero,  G.:  The  Women  of  the  Caesars  (New  York, 
1911). 


6  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

Forbiger,  A. :  Handbuch  der  alten  Geographic. 

Galletti,  J.  A.:  Histoire  illustree  de  la  Corse  (Paris, 
1866). 

Gloeckner,  Feodor:  Ueber  em  dem  Seneca  beigelegtes 

Epigramm  (Rhein.  Mus.  34  (1879)  p.  140)  ;  Zu  Seneca 
(Rhein.  Mus.  35  (1880)  p.  484). 

Harrington,  Karl  P.;  Seneca's  Epigrams  (T.  A.  P.  A. 
vol.  xlvi.  1915) . 

Henderson,  B.  W. :  Life  and  Principate  of  the  Em- 
peror Nero  (Philadelphia,  1903). 

Hartmann,  L.  M. :  De  Exilio  Apud  Romanos  Inde  Ab 
Initio  Bellorum  Civilium  Usque  Ad  Severi  Alexandri 
Principatum  (Berlin,  1887). 

Holland,  Francis:  Seneca  (London,  1920). 

Inge,  W.  R. :  Society  In  Rome  Under  The  Caesars 
(New  York,  1888). 

Jahn,  J.  N.  H.:  The  Sources  Of  The  History  of  The 
Emperor  Nero  (1920). 

Jonas,  F. :  De  Ordine  Liborum  L.  Annaei  Senecae 
Philosophi  (Berlin,  1870). 

Lehmann,  H. :  Claudius  und  Nero  (Gotha,  1858). 

Leopold,  H.  M.  R. :  Exulum  Trias  sive  De  Cicerone, 
Ovidio,  Seneca  Exulibus  (Goudae,  1914). 

Merivale,  Charles :  History  of  the  Romans  Under  The 
Empire  (New  York,  1865). 

Mommsen,  Theodor:  Roemisches  Strafrecht  (Leipzig, 
1899. 

Moyle,  J.  B. :  Exsilium  (Smith,  A.  Dictionary  of  Greek 
and  Roman  Antiquities,  London,  1901). 

Pauly-Wissowa :  Real-Encyclopaedie  (Stuttgart,  1894- 
1912). 

Exilium  (Kleinfeller). 

Corsica  (Huelsen) 

L.  Annaeus  Seneca   (0.  Rossbach). 

Epigramm  (Reitzenstein). 

Ribbeck,  Otto:  Geschichte  der  Roemischen  Dichtung 
vol.  iii.  (Stuttgart,  1892). 

Riese,  A.:  Ueber  die  Echtheit,  der  Gedichte  des 
Seneca,  des  Petronius  und  anderer  (Fleckeis  Jahrb.  99 
(1869)  p.  279). 

Rossbach,  0:  Disquis  de  Sen.  filii  scriptis  crit.  cap.  ii. 
(Breslau,  1882). 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  7 

Santvoord,  Van  Seymour:  The  House  of  Caesar  (Troy, 
N.  Y.,  1902). 

Schanz,  Martin :  Geschichte  der  Roemischen  Litteratur, 
vol  ii.  part  ii.  (Munich,  1901). 

Schiller,  Hermann:  Geschichte  des  roemischen  Kaiser- 
reichs  unter  der  Regierung  des  Nero  (Berlin,  1872). 

Sihler,  E.G.:  Testimonium  Animae  (New  York,  1908) . 

Stahr,  Adolf:  Agrippina  (Berlin,  1867). 

Teuffel,  W.  S. :  Geschichte  der  roemischen  Literatur, 
vol.  ii.  (Leipzig,  1910). 

Zeller,  Eduard:  Die  Philosophie  der  Griechen,  vol.  iii. 
(Leipzig,  1880). 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

1 

SENECA  RELEGATED  TO  CORSICA 

The  recall  of  Julia  Livilla  and  Agrippina.  Seneca  rele- 
gated to  Corsica  on  a  charge  of  liaison  with  Julia  Livilla. 
The  date  of  the  relegation.  The  accusers  and  the  charge. 
Seneca's  vague  account.  Dio's  gossip.  Claudius  under 
the  control  of  his  wives  and  freedmen.  Seneca  con- 
demned to  death  without  Claudius's  cognizance.  The 
penalty  changed  to  relegation  through  the  interposition 
of  the  Emperor.  The  charges  of  Publius  Suilius  as  re- 
corded in  Tacitus.  Seneca's  guilt  or  innocence.  Seneca's 
wives.  Proof  of  his  guilt  inadequate.  Seneca's  old  age 
reflections  on  his  past  lapses.  The  views  of  modern 
scholars.  The  good-will  between  the  house  of  Seneca  and 
the  children  of  Germanicus.  Crispus  Passienus. 

2 
SENECA  IN  EXILE 

Seneca  deprived  of  his  normal  occupations.  Stoical 
attitude  of  the  first  few  years.  Interest  in  the  language 
and  customs  of  the  Corsicans.  Interest  in  nature.  The 
literary  product  of  the  exile  period.  Leisure  for  reading 
and  study.  The  "consolatio"  addressed  to  his  mother: 
Seneca  not  wretched  in  exile.  Exile  analysed.  The  epi- 
gram addressed  to  his  native  Corduba.  A  projected  trip 
to  Athens.  Seneca's  uncertainty  whether  to  return  to 


8  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

private  or  public  life.    The  epigrams.     Did  Caesennius 
(Caesonius)  Maximus  accompany  Seneca  into  exile? 

3 

THE  TECHNICAL  NATURE  OF  SENECA'S  EXILE 

Seneca's  exile  technically  "relegatio."  The  scholion 
on  Juvenal  v.  109.  The  problem  whether  Seneca's  prop- 
erty was  confiscated  or  not.  The  decree  against  Seneca 
passed  by  the  Senate.  "Relegatio"  defined  by  Justinian, 
quoting  Marcianus  and  Ulpianus. 

4 

CORSICA 

Lack  of  inscriptional  evidence  a  handicap  in  deter- 
mining the  earliest  peoples.  Earliest  inhabitants  prob- 
ably Ligurians.  Seneca's  account  that  the  Ligurians 
came  after  the  Phocaeans  left  for  Massilia.  Herodotus's 
and  Strabo's  story  of  the  Phocaeans.  The  character  of 
the  autochthones  as  recorded  by  Seneca  and  Strabo. 
Seneca's  interest  in  their  patois.  The  reluctance  of 
exotic  peoples  to  remain  in  Corsica.  Occupations. 
Seneca's  epigram  on  Corsica. 

5 

THE  RECALL 

Seneca  plays  lick-spittle  to  Polybius  to  effect  his  recall. 
The  suppressed  letter  addressed  to  Messalina  and  the 
freedmen.  The  passages  adulatory  of  Claudius  and  Poly- 
bius. The  epigrams  on  the  British  campaign  of  Claudius. 
The  epigram  addressed  to  Crispus  Passienus.  The  mar- 
riage of  Messalina  and  Silius.  The  murder  of  Messalina. 
The  marriage  of  Claudius  and  Agrippina.  The  recall. 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  9 

1 

SENECA  RELEGATED  TO  CORSICA 

Claudius,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  (41  A.  D.), 
recalled  Caligula's  sisters,  Julia  Livilla  and  Agrippina, 
from  an  exile  into  which  their  insane  brother  had  whim- 
sically sent  them  (Dio  60.4).  Probably  toward  the  close 
of  41  A.  D.,  he  relegated  the  courtier-philosopher,  Lucius 
Annaeus  Seneca,  to  Corsica,  and  banished  Livilla  on  a 
charge  of  liaison  with  Seneca  (ib.  60.8).  It  may  be  that 
Messalina  persuaded  Claudius  to  have  Julia  banished  be- 
cause Julia's  husband  had  been  mentioned  as  a  possible 
successor  to  Caligula  (Jos.  Ant.  Jud.  xix.  4).  That 
Seneca  was  banished  in  41  A.  D.  is  conjecture ;  and  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  his  relegation  did  not  take  place 
until  the  beginning  of  42  A.  D.  Julia  Livilla's  banish- 
ment seems  to  have  taken  place  toward  the  end  of  41  A.D. 
(Dio  60.8).  Seneca's  sentence  probably  did  not  follow  at 
once  for  Seneca's  own  words:  "deprecatus  est  (Claudius) 
pro  me  senatum,  etc."  (ad  Polyb.  xiii.  2)  suggests  proceed- 
ings of  some  length.  Feodor  Gloecker  (Rhein.  Mus.  35.  p. 
485),  following  this  reasoning,  places  the  beginning  of 
the  exile  early  in  42.  He  considers  the  scholion  to 
Juvenal  sat.  v.  109,  which,  in  the  commentator,  G.  Valla, 
is  as  follows:  "Hie  (Seneca),  ut  inquit  Probus,  sub 
Claudio  quasi  conscius  adulteriorum  luliae  Germanici 
filiae  in  Corsicam  relegatus  post  triennium  revocatus  est." 
That  Seneca  was  in  exile  only  three  years  is  manifestly 
an  error.  Gloeckner  thinks  the  error  can  be  explained 
easily:  in  the  original,  which  served  Valla  as  a  source,  or 
in  one  of  the  older  manuscripts,  Probus,  for  example,  the 
numeral  vii.  was  found  and  changed  to  iii. ;  and  the  orig- 
inal reading  of  the  scholion  was :  "post  septuennium." 

Of  this  emendation  Jonas  (p.  13)  writes:  "Scio  iam 
diu  emendatum  esse  eum  non  per  annos  iii.  sed  per  vii. 
annos  in  exilio  versatum  esse,  sed  quamquam  verisimile 
esse  non  nego  eodem  anno,  quo  lulia  necata  est,  Senecam 
quoque  esse  expulsum,  tamen  haudquam  Cassius  Dio  id 
tarn  aperte  scripsit,  quam  omnes,  qui  de  exilio  Senecae 
scripserunt,  iudicasse  videntur." 

It  would  seem  that  Valerius  Messala  Barbatus,  the 
father  of  Messalina,  appeared  as  his  accuser,  and  that 


10  SENECA   IN  CORSICA 

Narcissus,  the  freedman  of  Claudius,  turned  against  him 
at  the  trial:  "Messala  (Messallina?)  et  Narcissus, —  pro- 
positum  meum  potuerunt  evertere" :  Seneca's  account, 
which  follows,  is  vague :  "cervicem  pro  fide  opposui,  nul- 
lum  verbum  mihi,  quod  non  salva  bona  conscientia  pro- 
cederet,  excussum  est;  pro  amicis  omnia  timui,  pro  me 
nihil,  nisi  ne  parum  bonus  amicus  fuissem.  non  mihi 
muliebres  fluxere  lacrimae,  non  e  manibus  uilius  supplex 
pependi,  nihil  indecorum  nee  bono  nee  viro  feci"  (N.  Q. 
Lib.  iv.  a  Praef .  15.16) . 

Seneca  is  silent  on  the  charge  brought  against  him,  but 
Dio  (60.8)  acquaints  us  with  the  court  gossip  that 
Valeria  Messalina,  the  slatternly  wife  of  Claudius,  took 
umbrage  at  her  niece,  Julia  Livilla,  because  Julia  neither 
honored  nor  flattered  her;  that  Messalina's  jealousy  was 
fired  by  Julia's  engaging  loveliness  and  because  she  found 
favor  in  the  eyes  of  Claudius ;  and  that  she  therefore  had 
her  banished  for  adultery,  a  charge  for  which  the  philos- 
opher was  also  brought  to  book.  Subsequently,  she  com- 
passed the  hapless  girl's  death  by  starvation  (Seneca 
Ludus  x.  4). 

It  seems  odd  that  Seneca,  nowhere  in  his  writings, 
mentions  anything  damaging  against  Messalina.  Farrar 
(p.  110)  believes  that  Seneca  felt  that  Messalina  had 
been  judged  already  by  a  ' 'higher  Power"  and  had  re- 
ceived sufficient  punishment  in  her  death.  Suetonius 
states  that  Julia  had  been  put  to  death  on  an  unsupported 
charge,  having  been  given  no  opportunity  to  defend  her- 
self: " — Germanici  filiam,  crimine  incerto  nee  defen- 
sione  ulla  data  occidit, — "  (Claud.  29.1).  In  view  of 
what  Seneca  writes  in  ad  Polyb.  xiii.  2,  there  seems  to  be 
no  compelling  reason  for  the  assumption  that  these 
words,  "nee  defensione  ulla  data,"  may  be  applied  to 
Seneca  as  well. 

That  Claudius  submitted  tamely  to  the  control  of  his 
freedmen  and  wives  we  know  from  Suetonius:  "his  (i.  e. 
libertis),  ut  dixi,  uxoribusque  addictus,  non  principeni 
(se),  sed  ministrum  egit"  (Claud.  29.1)  and  from 
Tactitus:  "Matios  posthac  et  Vedios  et  cetera  equitum 
Romanorum  praevalida  nomina,  referre  nihil  attinuerit, 
cum  Claudius  libertos  quos  rei  familiari  prsefecerat 
sibique  et  legibus  adaequaverit"  (Ann.  xii.  60) .  Claudius 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  11 

so  disrelished  the  irksome  details  of  government  that  he 
was  glad  enough  to  turn  them  over  to  the  court  junto, 
of  which  Messalina  was  the  leading  spirit,  "sed  et  haec 
et  cetera  totumque  adeo  ex  parte  magna  principatum 
non  tarn  suo  quam  uxorum  libertorumque  arbitrio 
administravit,  talis  ubique  plerumque,  qualem  esse  eum 
aut  expediret  illis  aut  liberet"  (Suet.  Claud.  25.5).  The 
wishes  of  the  man  whom  the  courtiers  considered  a  tedi- 
ous old  fool  inclined  rather  toward  books  (cf.  ib.  41-42)  and 
his  favorite  dissipations.  He  wished  to  be  left  to  his  own 
devices.  The  appearance  of  Claudius  before  the  Senate 
to  plead  for  a  change  of  Seneca's  penalty  from  death 
to  relegation  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the  whole 
matter  had  been  effected  without  the  cognizance  of 
Claudius,  through  the  machinations  of  Messalina;  and 
that  when  he  had  learned  the  truth,  he  tried  to  undo 
something  of  what  he  had  unwittingly  done.  Dio 
(60.18)  states  that  Claudius  had  been  unaware  of  the 
licentious  acts  of  Messalina  for  a  long  time.  This  is  in 
consonance  with  the  character  of  the  man  who:  "occisa 
Messalina,  paulo  post  quam  in  triclinio  decubuit,  cur 
domina  non  veniret,  requisivit"  (Suet.  Claud.  39.1).  We 
know  that  Claudius  was  fearful  and  suspicious  to  a  de- 
gree. On  learning  of  Caligula's  death,  "exterritus  pro- 
repsit  ad  solarium  proximum  interque  praetenta  foribus 
vela  se  abdidit — forte  gregarius  miles,  animadversis  pedi- 
bus,  (e)  studio  sciscitandi  quisnam  esset,  ad  (co)  gnovit 
extractumque  et  prae  metu  ad  genua  sibi  adcidentem 
imperatorem  salutavit"  (ib.  10.1-2).  It  was  only  too 
patent  that  Messalina  and  the  freedmen  battened  on  his 
weaknesses. 

Tacitus  tells  of  one  Publilius  Suilius,  who,  during  the 
principate  of  Claudius,  had  been  a  source  of  terror  and 
notorious  for  his  venality,  and  albeit  his  fortunes  had 
suffered  a  marked  declension,  his  enemies,  desiring  to 
crush  him  still  further,  caused  a  decree  to  be  passed 
(58  A.  D.),  reviving  the  Cincian  laws,  imposing  fines 
on  those  who  took  fees  for  pleading  cases.  Suilius,  re- 
lying on  his  years,  upraided  Seneca  as  the  foe  of  all  the 
friends  of  Claudius:  " — Senecam  increpans  infensum 
amicis  Claudii,  sub  quo  iustissimum  exilium  pertulisset. 
simul  studiis  inertibus  et  iuvenum  imperitiae  suetum 


12  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

livere  iis  qui  vividam  et  incorruptam  eloquentiam  tuendis 
civibus  exercerent.  se  quaestorem  Germanic!,  ilium 
domus  eius  adulterum  fuisse.  an  gravius  aestimandum 
sponte  litigatoris  praemium  honestae  operae  adsequi 
quam  corrumpere  cubicula  principum  feminarum?" 
(Ann.  xiii.  42)  Suilius,  in  addition,  charges  Seneca  with 
amassing  a  fortune  of  300,000,000  sesterces,  of  having 
wills  made  out  in  his  favor,  of  draining  the  provinces  by 
his  exorbitant  usury.  He  blames  Seneca's  hatred  of  Claud- 
ius and  all  associated  with  him  for  his  own  accusation — 
revenge  on  Seneca's  part  for  his  banishment  to  Corsica. 
It  was  Suilius,  who,  as  a  tool  of  Messalina,  brought 
charges  against  Valerius  Asiaticus  and  others  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius.  As  a  result  of  the  trial,  a  part  of  the 
property  of  Suilius  was  confiscated  and  he  was  banished 
to  the  Balearic  islands  (ib.  xiiii.  43). 

Whether  Seneca  was  really  guilty  of  the  charge  is  a 
vexed  question.  The  beautiful  devotion  of  his  second 
wife,  Paulina,  in  essaying  to  share  death  with  her  hus- 
band when  Nero's  order  came,  indicates  the  probability 
of  Seneca's  freedom  from  domestic  baseness:  "ilia 
(Paulina)  contra  sibi  quoque  destinatam  mortem  adse- 
verat  manumque  percussoris  exposcit. — post  quae  eodem 
ictu  brachia  ferro  exolvunt"  (Tac.  Ann.  xv.  73). 

Seneca  had  been  married  prior  to  his  exile,  for  he  had 
lost  a  son  on  the  twentieth  day  before  his  exile  (ad  Helv. 
ii.  5),  and  was  survived  by  another,  Marcus  (ib.  xviii.  4). 
It  seems  probable  that  she  was  not  the  Paulina  whom 
Tacitus  records  as  essaying  death  with  Seneca  in  65 
A.  D.,  for  in  Epist.  104.2  he  speaks  of  his  wife  Paulina 
as  being  quite  young,  and  the  letters  were  composed  in 
Seneca's  later  years.  There  are  two  possibilities.  Either 
she  was  dead  at  the  time  of  the  relegation,  or  she  accom- 
panied him  to  Corsica.  The  latter  is  improbable,  as 
Seneca  nowhere  mentions  her  in  the  letter  addressed  to 
his  mother.  And  Tacitus  would  have  noted  such  devo- 
tion on  the  part  of  his  wife,  as  he  did  in  the  case  of 
Artoria  Flacilla  and  Egnatia  Maximilla,  who  accompa- 
nied their  husbands  into  exile  (Ann.  xv.  71). 

The  fact  that  Seneca  was  banished  by  a  decree  of  the 
Senate  is  not  sufficient  proof  of  his  guilt,  for  we  know 
that  the  Senate,  under  the  principate,  did  not  dare  to 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  13 

act  counter  to  the  wishes  of  the  emperor.  Nor  does  the 
fact  that  Claudius  sanctioned  the  relegation  prove 
Seneca's  guilt,  for  Claudius's  eccentric  interpretation  of 
justice  was  notorious  (Suet.  Claud.  15). 

Seneca,  in  the  evening  of  his  years,  when  the  uncer- 
tainty of  life  had  forced  him  to  take  sanctuary  in  his 
inmost  self,  has  these  significant  observations  to  make 
about  sins — echoes,  doubtless,  from  his  own  past:  "salu- 
tares  admonitiones,  velut  medicamentorum  utilium  com- 
positiones,  litteris  mando,  esse  illas  efficaces  in  meis  ul- 
ceribus  expertus,  quae  etiam  si  persanata  non  sunt,  ser- 
pere  desierunt.  rectum  iter,  quod  sero  cognovi  et  lassus 
errando,  aliis  monstro"  (Epist.  viii.  2).  Seneca  here  ad- 
mits that  he  has  erred  in  his  past  life  and  that  he  found 
the  ' 'straight  path"  only  as  he  neared  the  shadows. 
Again :  "vix  effici  toto  saeculo  potest,  ut  vitia  tarn  longa 
licentia  tumida  subigantur — "  (Epist.  Ixix.  5).  In  an- 
swering the  charge  of  Lucilius,  that  Seneca  was  trying 
to  reform  him,  while  unreformed  himself,  the  philosopher 
says:  "non  sum  tarn  inprobus,  ut  curationes  aeger 
obeam,  sed  tamquam  in  eodem  valitudinario  iaceam,  de 
communi  tecum  malo  conloquor  et  remedia  communico — 
clamo  mihi  ipse :"  'numera  annos  tuos,  et  pudebit  te  eadem 
velle,  quae  volueras  puer, — dimitte  istas  voluptates  tur- 
bidas,  magno  luendas:  non  venturae  tantum,  sed  prae- 
teritae  nocent'  "  (Epist.  xxvii.  1.2). 

The  greatest  evangels  of  our  day  have  often  been  the 
deepest  dyed  sinners  in  earlier  days.  Ancient  preachers, 
too,  have  frequently  learned  their  lessons  from  personal 
contact  with  evil.  The  gentle  Persius,  to  all  seeming,  a 
model  of  perfect  Stoic  manhood,  died  in  the  blossom  of 
youth  of  a  disaffection  of  the  stomach,  not  usually  asso- 
ciated with  abstemiousness.  It  is  significant  that  he  had 
as  one  of  his  teachers  the  shady  Remmius  Palaemon. 
Sallust,  in  a  fit  of  revulsion,  when  he  had  become  sated 
with  excess,  penned  his  immortal  "Catilina."  Juvenal's 
pungent  satires  do  not  smack  of  the  vita  umbratilis.  His 
sermons  in  verse  are  all  the  more  valuable  because  of  this. 
Seneca  is  of  their  ilk. 

Butler  (Post-Augustan  Poetry,  p.  33)  says:  "Seneca's 
banishment  on  the  charge  of  an  intrigue  with  Livilla  is 
not  seriously  damaging.  The  accusation  may  have  been 


14  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

true :  it  is  at  least  as  likely  to  have  been  false,  for  it  was 
instigated  by  Messalina." 

Baring-Gould  (vol.  ii.  p.  482)  writes:  " — we  are  per- 
haps justified  in  suspecting  that  the  real  cause  of  his 
removal  was  that  his  upright  mind  and  clear  sense  of  the 
duties  of  government  obtained  recognition  from 
Claudius,  and  that  the  prince  was  inclined  to  follow  his 
advice." 

Ball  (Essays  of  Seneca,  p.  xii.)  suggests  the  possibility 
of  the  banishment's  being  "the  result  of  one  of  Claudius's 
ill-directed  efforts  at  old-fashioned  Roman  severity." 

Dill  (Roman  Society,  etc.  p.  14)  makes  no  effort  to 
mitigate  Seneca's  offence:  "Prurient  slander  was  rife  in 
those  days,  and  we  are  not  bound  to  accept  all  its  tales 
about  Seneca.  Yet  there  are  passages  in  his  writings 
which  leave  the  impression,  that  although  he  may  have 
cultivated  a  Pythagorean  asceticism  in  his  youth,  he  did 
not  altogether  escape  the  taint  of  his  time." 

Sihler  (Testimonium  Animae,  p.  405)  and  Holland 
(Seneca,  p.  35)  state  the  charge,  without  venturing  an 
opinion  as  to  its  truth  or  falsity. 

Teuffel  (R.  L.  G.  287.1)  suggests  the  possibility  of  the 
banishment's  being  due  to  political  motives.  The  up- 
braiding of  Seneca  by  Suilius,  after  Claudius's  death  lends 
force  to  this  possibility.  It  was  probably  true  that 
Seneca,  after  Gaius's  death,  emerged  from  the  political 
eclipse  under  which  he  had  been  forced  to  hide  during 
the  reign  of  Caligula.  He  may  have  joined  the  rivals  of 
Messalina  through  hatred  of  her.  (cf.  Farrar,  p.  78). 

We  know  that  Seneca  opened  not  his  mouth  in  self- 
defense  at  the  trial,  fearing  to  incriminate  friends  (N.  Q. 
Lib.  iv.  a  Praef .  15) . 

There  was  good-will  between  the  house  of  Germanicus 
and  Seneca:  " — Seneca  fidus  in  Agrippinam  memoria 
beneficii  et  infensus  Claudio  dolore  iniuriae  credebatur" 
(Tac.  Ann.  xii.  8).  Seneca,  while  in  Corsica,  addressed 
an  epigram  to  Crispus  Passienus,  the  husband  of  Agrip- 
pina.  (See  IV.  "The  Recall.") 

The  scholiast  on  Juvenal  iv.  81  tells  us  that  Crispus 
Passienus  died  through  the  wiles  of  Agrippina  when 
Nero  had  grown  up  (c.  55).  At  that  period  Seneca 
wrote  the  following  epigram : 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  15 

"De  amico  mortuo 
Ablatus  mihi  Crispus  est  amicus, 
Pro  quo  si  pretium  dari  liceret, 
Nostros  dividerem  libenter  annos. 
Nunc  pars  optima  me  mei  reliquit, 
Crispus,  presidium  meum,  voluptas, 
Portus,  deliciae:  nihil  sine  illo 
Laetum  mens  mea  iam  putabit  esse. 
Consumptus  male  debilisque  vivani: 
Plus  quam  dimidium  mei  recessit" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.iv.  55). 

Seneca,  in  his  later  years,  fondly  recalls  Crispus: 
"Crispus  Passienus,  quo  ego  nil  cognovi  subtilius  in  om- 
nibus quidem  rebus,  maxime  in  distinguendis  et  curandis 
vitiis,  saepe  dicebat  adulationi  nos  non  claudere  ostium 
sed  operire  et  quidem  sic,  quemadmodum  opponi  amicse 
solet:  quae  si  impulit,  grata  est;  gratior,  si  effregit" 
(N.  Q.  Lib.  iv.  a  Praef.  6).  See  also  Sen.  de  Benef. 
1.15.5). 

There  seems  small  reason  to  doubt  Seneca's  innocence 
of  the  charge.  The  purity  of  his  home  relations  as  re- 
corded in  other  situations;  the  servility  of  the  Senate 
which  decreed  his  banishment;  the  absurdity  of 
Claudius's  efforts  at  dispensing  justice;  the  fact  that 
Messalina  was  the  well-spring  of  the  charge ;  the  possib- 
ility of  the  exile's  being  a  political  move — all  point  in  this 
direction.  Moreover,  the  charge  is  recorded  in  Dio, 
whose  penchant  for  a  good  story  led  to  much  garbling  of 
the  truth,  (see  Jahn,  p.  33)  Suilius'  attack  on  Seneca, 
as  recorded  in  Tacitus,  loses  some  of  its  potency  when 
we  remember  that  he  had  been  a  tool  of  the  trollop, 
Messalina,  during  Claudius's  reign.  Against  this  we 
must  weigh  the  persistence  of  the  charge,  the  silence  of 
Seneca  (albeit  his  loyalty  to  Germanicus's  family  may 
have  been  the  occasion  for  this) ,  and  his  own  post- 
exilian  confessions  of  past  sins,  in  the  letters  addressed 
to  Lucilius. 


16  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

2 

SENECA  IN  EXILE 

Seneca  (ad  Helv.  x.  2)  asserts  that  banishment  has  de- 
prived him  of  his  occupations.  He  means  here  his 
"wonted"  occupations,  for  we  know  that  he  addressed 
himself  zealously  at  first  to  a  practical  Stoicism  (ib. 
pass.)  ;  that  he  was  broad  awake  to  the  peculiarities  of 
the  language  and  customs  of  the  Corsicans  (ib.  vii.  9)  ; 
that  he  composed  three  letters,  two  of  which  have  been 
preserved :  "Ad  Helviam  Matrem  De  Consoliatione,"  "Ad 
Polybium  De  Consolatione ;"  a  third,  addressed  to  Messa- 
lina  and  the  imperial  freedmen,  a  performance  of  which 
he  was  subsequently  ashamed  (Dio  60.10)  ;  and  a  series 
of  epigrams  (P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  1-73),  and  Teuffel  thinks 
also  a  part  of  his  tragedies  (R.  L.  G.  288.2).  Butler 
(p.  43)  professes  that  it  is  a  mystery  to  him  why  the  view 
should  be  held  so  widely  that  Seneca  composed  his  trage- 
dies in  Corsica  He  undoubtedly  also  wrote  letters  to  his 
brother,  Novatus,  after  his  adoption  by  Gallio  (Jonas, 
p.  33). 

He  had  a  free  mind,  and  leisure  for  study  and  verse 
writing  (Baehrens  P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  p.  35). 

"remotus  inter  Corsici  rupes  maris, 
ubi  liber  animus  et  sui  iuris  mihi 
semper  vacabat  studia  recolenti  mea." 

(Octavia382  ff  Leo) 

His  interest  in  natural  science  was  great:  "proinde, 
dum  oculi  mei  ab  illo  spectaculo,  cuius  insatiabiles  sunt, 
non  abucantur,  dum  mihi  solem  lunamque  intueri  liceat, 
dum  ceteris  inhaerere  sideribus,  dum  ortus  eorum  occa- 
susque  et  intervalla  et  causas  investigare  vel  ocius 
meandi  vel  tardius, — dum  animum  ad  cognatarum  rerum 
conspectum  tendentem  in  sublimi  semper  habeam :  quan- 
tum refert  mea,  quid  calcem?"  (Ad  Helv.  viii.  6). 

"laetum  et  alacrem  velut  optimis  rebus,  sunt  enim 
optimae,  quoniam  animus  omnis  occupationis  expers 
operibus  suis  vacat  et  modo  se  levioribus  studiis  oblectat, 
modo  ad  considerandam  suam  universique  naturam  veri 
avidus  insurgit"  (ad  Helv.  xx.  1.2). 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  17 

He  did  much  reading.  In  seeking  material  with  which 
to  console  his  mother  he  says:  "praeterea  cum  omnia 
clarissimorum  ingeniorum  monimenta  ad  compescendos 
moderandosque  luctus  composita  evolverem,  non  invenie- 
bam  exemplum  eius,  qui  consolatus  suos  esset,  cum  ipse 
ab  illis  comploraretur:"  (ad  Helv.  i.  1.  2). 

Much  of  his  time  was  used  in  his  efforts  to  secure  a 
recall.  (See  chapter  "The  Recall.") 

His  resentment  of  the  hostile  thrusts  of  a  certain 
Maximus  found  expression  in  several  bitter  epigrams: 

"Parcendum  misero 
Occisum  iugulum  quisquis  scrutare  inimicus, 

Tu  miserum  necdum  me  satis  esse  putas? 
Desere  confossum!  victori  vulnus  iniquo 
Mortiferum  inpressit  mortua  saepe  manus" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  6). 

"Ad  malivolum 
Invisus  tibi  sum :  peream  si,  Maxime,  miror : 

Odi  te  et,  si  vis,  accipe  cur  faciam. 
Famam  temptasti  nostram  sermone  maligno 

Laedere  fellitis,  invidiose,  iocis. 
Contra  rem  nuper  pugnasti,  livide,  parvam: 

Tu  tamen  in  magna  te  nocuisse  putas. 
Haec  peream  nisi  sunt  animi  in  te,  Maxime,  causae : 

Odi,  nee  mentem  res  magis  ulla  iuvat, 
Inque  vicem  ut  facias  oro  pereoque  timore, 

Ne  minus  invisus  sim  tibi  quam  videor" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  26). 

No  sooner  had  Seneca  arrived  at  Corsica  than  his 
thoughts  began  to  turn  homeward.  His  first  letter  was  a 
"consolatio"  addressed  to  his  mother,  apparently  intended 
to  be  circulated  and  read  at  Rome.  It  was  written 
several  months  after  his  arrival  in  Corsica  (cf.  "modo 
modo,"  ii.  5;  "recens  vulnus,"  iii.  1).  The  letter  is  valu- 
able as  an  autobiographical  document,  especially  on  ac- 
count of  the  light  it  sheds  on  the  earlier  exile  period, 
while  Seneca  was  still  practicing  Stoicism.  Many  con- 
siderations urged  Seneca  to  write  the  letter:  "primum 
videbar  depositurus  omnia  incommoda,  cum  lacrimas 


18  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

tuas, — absterissem ;  deinde  plus  habiturum  me  auctorita- 
tis  non  dubitabam  ad  excitandam  te,  si  prior  ipse  con- 
surrexissem ;  praeterea  timebam,  ne  a  me  victa  fortuna 
aliquem  meorum  vinceret:"  (ad  Helv.  i.  1). 

Tn  the  opening  lines  of  the  "ad  Helviam,"  Seneca  tells 
his  mother  that  he  has  often  felt  an  impulse  to  write 
a  "consolatio,"  but  held  back.  It  may  be  that  he  is  here 
trying  to  cloak  his  real  grief.  He  describes  himself  as 
experiencing  mere  "incommoda,"  but  goes  on  to  say : 
"itaque  utcumque  conabar  manu  super  piagam  meam 
inposita  ad  obliganda  volnera  vestra  reptare"  (ib.  i.  1). 
His  use  of  the  verb  "consurrexissem"  implies  tht  he  had 
something  from  which  to  arouse  himself.  So  while  the 
letter  as  a  whole  is  permeated  with  Stoic  sentiments,  here 
and  there  his  partially  suppressed  feelings  crop  to  the 
surface. 

Seneca  dispells  all  fears  that  his  mother  may  have  as 
to  his  being  wretched  in  exile:  "vincam  autem  (i.  e. 
dolorem  tuum)  puto,  primum  si  ostendero  nihil  me  pati, 
propter  quod  ipse  dici  possim  miser, — "  (ib.  iv.  1). 

"Hoc  prius  adgrediar, — nihil  mihi  mali  esse"  (ib.  iv.  2) . 

Seneca  reiterates  the  assurance  that  his  exile  is  not 
wretched:  "indico  me  non  esse  miserum.  adiciam,  quo 
securior  sis,  ne  fieri  quidem  me  posse  miserum"  (ad 
Helv.  iv.  3). 

"nam  id  quidem  si  profited  possem,  non  tantum  ne- 
garem  miserum  esse  me,  sed  omnium  fortunatissimum 
et  in  vicinum  deo  perductum  praedicarem:"  (ib.  v.  2). 

The  lot  of  the  exile  under  Claudius  was  better  than 
under  Gaius,  if  we  may  credit  what  Seneca  says  of 
Claudius  in  "ad  Polyb.  xiii.4":  "o  felicem  clementiam 
tuam,  Caesar,  quae  efficit,  ut  quietiorem  sub  te  agant 
vitam  exules,  quam  nuper  sub  Gaio  egere  principes!  non 
trepidant  nee  per  singulas  horas  gladium  expectant  nee 
ad  omnem  navium  conspectum  pa  vent;  per  te  habent  ut 
fortunae  ssevientis  modum  ita  spem  quoque  melioris 
eiusdem  ac  praesentis  quietem."  Seneca  intended  that 
these  lines  should  be  read  by  Claudius. 

Seneca  analyses  exile.  It  is  a  change  of  place,  attended 
with  certain  inconveniences :  "paupertas,  ignominia,  con- 
temptus"  (ib.  vi.  1).  Men  say:  "  'Carere  patria  intoler- 
abile  est.'  "  Yet  many  people  in  Rome,  which  has  scarce 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  19 

shelter  for  all,  are  without  a  patria.  They  hail  from 
all  quarters  with  varying  purposes:  "alios  adduxit  am- 
bitio,  alios  necessitas  officii  publici,  alios  inposita  legatio, 
alios  luxuria — alios  liberalium  studiorum  cupiditas, 
alios  spectaula;  quosdam  traxit  amicitia, — quidam  vena- 
lem  formam  attulerunt,  quidam  venalem  eloquentiam — :" 
(ib.  vi.  2) — all  of  them  setting  a  high  price  on  their 
virtues  and  vices. 

In  his  reminiscent  period,  Seneca  classified  exile  as 
one  of  the  indifferentia:  "tamquam  indifferentia  esse 
dico,  id  est  nee  bona  nee  mala,  morbum,  dolorem,  pauper- 
tatem,  exilium,  mortem"  (Epist.  Ixxxii.  10).  Exile,  like 
the  other  indifferentia  is  not  glorious;  but  nothing  car 
be  glorious  apart  from  them.  We  do  not  laud  poverty, 
but  the  man :  "quern,  paupertas  non  summittit  nee  incur- 
vat."  Just  so :  "laudatur  non  exilium  (sed  ille  qui  in 
exilium)  iit  quam  misisset"  (ib.  11).  Even  desert  places 
have  some  persons  there  animi  causa. 

Seneca  tells  us  how  exile  should  be  borne,  suggestions 
which  do  not  conform  to  his  own  subsequent  actions: 
"alacres  itaque  et  erecti,  quocumque  res  tulerit,  intrepido 
gradu  properemus,  emetiamur  quascumque  terras  :nullum 
inveniri  exilium  intra  mundum  potest;  nihil  enim,  quod 
intra  mundum  est,  alienum  homini  est"  (ad  Helv.  viii. 
5).  (cf.  also  the  lines  quoted  above:  "dum  oculi  mei — " 
(ib.  viii.  6). 

Other  objections  raised  against  exile  are  that  the  land 
is  unproductive,  has  no  navigable  rivers,  has  scarce 
enough  products  for  the  sustenance  of  the  inhabitants, 
produces  no  valuable  stone,  no  gold  nor  silver.  Seneca's 
retort  is:  "angustus  animus  est,  quern  terrena  delectant:" 
—  (ad  Helv.  ix.  2). 

No  exile  is  grievous  in  which  the  banished  has  as  com- 
panions: "iustitia  —  continentia  —  prudentia,  pietas, 
omnium  officiorum  recte  dispensandorum  ratio,  humano- 
rum  divinorumque  scientia  (ib.  ix.  3),  even  though  pov- 
erty (ib.  x.  11),  and  a  lack  of  fine  raiment  and  a  home 
are  concomitants  (ib.  xi.  1). 

He  tells  how  Marcellus  comported  himself  in  exile  at 
Mytilene,  engaged  in  liberal  studies,  and  how  that  Bru- 
tus, who  visited  him  there,  felt,  on  leaving,  that  his  own 
home-going  was  more  like  exile  than  the  real  exile  of 


20  SENECA   IN   CORSICA 

/ 

Marcellus,  and  how  the  great  Julius  avoided  Mytilene 
lest  he  be  compelled  to  witness  the  happiness  of  Mar- 
cellus (ib.  ix.  4-7). 

To  the  suggestion  that  "ignominia"  attends  exile, 
Seneca,  with  his  usual  verbal  felicity,  answers :  "exilium 
saepe  contemptione  omni  carere:  si  magnus  vir  cecidit, 
magnus  iacuit,  non  magis  ilium  contemni,  quam  aedium 
sacrarum  ruinae  calcantur,  quas  religiosi  aeque  ac  stantis 
adorant"  (ib.  xiii.  8). 

His  mother  should  comfort  herself  on  having  her  other 
sons,  Novatus  and  Mela:  "respice  fratres  meos,  quibus 
salvis  fas  tibi  non  est  accusare  fortunam"  (ib.  xviii.  1). 
She  has  also  "Marcum  blandissimum  puerum,  ad  cuius 
conspectum  nulla  potest  durare  tristitia;"  (ib.  xviii.  4). 
This  Marcus  was  either  Seneca's  son,  or  Marcus  Lucanus, 
the  son  of  Seneca's  younger  brother,  Mela.  Seneca  had 
lost  a  son  a  short  time  before  his  relegation:  "intra 
vicesimum  diem,  quam  filium  meum  in  manibus  et  in 
osculis  tuis  mortuum  funeraveras,  raptum  me  audisti:" 
(ad  Helv.  ii.  5).  He  points  to  Novatilla,  the  daughter  of 
Novatus,  as  an  additional  source  of  comfort:  "tene  in 
gremio — Novatillam, — "  (ib.  xviii.7).  As  a  parting  con- 
solation, he  urges  his  mother :  "qualem  me  cogites  accipe : 
laetum  et  alacrem  velut  optimis  rebus"  (ad  Helv.  xx.  1). 

I  have  allocated  to  a  separate  chapter  ("The  Recall.") 
Seneca's  bootless  efforts  to  secure  a  recall  through  the 
flattery  of  Polybius  and  Claudius.  In  the  "ad  Polybium" 
is  revealed  a  state  of  soul  at  antipodes  to  that  of  the  "ad 
Helviam,"  and  the  character  of  the  exile  as  revealed  in 
the  former  is  none  too  noble. 

"nam  si  quicquam  tristitia  profecturi  sumus,  non  re- 
cuso  quicquid  lacrimarum  fortunae  meae  superfuit  tuae 
f undere ;  inveniam  etiamnunc  per  hos  exhaustos  iam  fleti- 
bus  domesticis  oculos  quod  effluat,  si  modo  id  tibi  f  uturum 
bonoest"  (ad  Polyb.  ii.  1). 

That  Seneca's  exile  was  not  borne  as  lightly  as  he 
would  have  his  mother  believe  in  the  "ad  Helviam"  is 
further  evidenced  by  two  epigrams  of  the  exile  period. 
In  the  one  he  likens  his  own  suffering  to  that  of  his 
native  Corduba;  in  the  other  he  pours  out  his  anguish 
in  bitterness  against  Corsica. 


SENECA   IN   CORSICA  21 

"De  se  ad  patriam 
Corduba,  solve  comas  et  tristes  indue  vultus, 

Inlacrimans  cineri  munera  mitte  meo. 
Nunc  longinqua  tuum  deplora,  Corduba,  vatem, 

Corduba  non  alio  tempore  maesta  magis : 
Tempore  non  illo,  quo  versis  viribus  orbis 

Incubuit  belli  tota  ruina  tibi, 
Cum  geminis  oppressa  malis  utrimque  peribas 

Et  tibi  Pompeius,  Caesar  et  hostis  erat; 
Tempore  non.  illo,  quo  ter  tibi  funera  centum 

Heu  nox  una  dedit,  quae  tibi  summa  fuit; 
Non,  Lusitanus  quateret  cum  moenia  latro, 

Figeret  et  portas  lancea  torta  tuas. 
Ille  tuus  quondam  magnus,  tua  gloria,  civis 

Infigor  scopulo :  Corduba,  solve  comas ! 
Set  gratare  tibi,  quod  te  natura  supremo 

Addidit  Oceano:  tardius  ista  doles!" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  19). 

Jonas  (p.  29)  thinks  that  this  epigram  was  written 
immediately  after  his  arrival  at  Corsica.  This  seems 
hardly  possible  in  view  of  the  Stoical  attitude  of  the 
"ad  Helviam,"  written  soon  after  his  arrival  at  the  island. 
(See  Sihler:  T.  A.  pp.  405-7). 

"Corsica  terribilis,  cum  primum  incanduit  aestas, 

Saevior,  ostendit  cum  ferus  ora  Canis: 
Parce  relegatis,  hoc  est,  iam  parce  solutis : 

Vivorum  cineri  sit  tua  terra  levis!" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  2). 

That  Seneca  projected  a  trip  to  Athens  we  learn  from 
the  scholiast  on  Juvenal  v.  109:  "revocatus — etsi  magno 
desiderio  Athenas  contenderet,  ab  Agrippina  tamen 
erudiendo  Neroni  in  palatium  adductus." 

Dio  (61.10)  tells  us  that  Seneca,  not  content  with  a 
liaison  with  Julia,  made  tender  of  his  affection  to  Agrip- 
pina. We  may  question  these  spittings  of  the  scandal- 
monger. 

While  Seneca  was  in  exile,  he  wavered  as  to  whether, 
in. case  of  recall,  he  should  return  to  public  life  or  not: 

"alios  praetura  sequatur — 
alios  gloria  magna  iuvet"  (P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  5). 


22  SENECA   IN  CORSICA 

"Ingentes  dominos  et  famae  nomina  clarae 

Inlustrique  graves  nobilitate  domos 
Devita  et  longe  tutus  cole; — 

ex  alto  magna  ruina  venit"  (ib.  17). 

"  'Vive  et  amicitias  omnes  fuge:' 
turba  cavenda  simul"  (ib.  18). 

"Castra  alios  operosa  vocent  sellseque  curlues 

Et  quicquid  vana  gaudia  mente  movet. 
Pars  ego  sim  plebis,  nullo  conspectus  honore, 
Dum  vivam,  dominus  temporis  ipse  mei"  (ib.  43) 


THE  EPIGRAMMATA 

While  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  at  length  the 
authenticity  of  the  epigrams  attributed  to  Seneca  (P.  L. 
M.  vol.  iv.  1-73),  the  subject  cannot  be  pretermitted  en- 
tirely. The  probability  of  Seneca's  authoriship  is 
handled  adequately,  I  feel,  in  Prof.  Harrington's  paper 
(T.  A.  P.  A.  vol.  xlvi.  1915) ,  and  nothing  would  be  gained 
by  traversing  the  same  field  again.  H.  E.  Butler,  in  his 
"Post-Augustan  Poetry,"  has  treated  the  "epigrammata" 
at  some  length.  His  conclusion  is:  "We  can  claim  no 
certainty  for  the  view  that  all  these  poems  are  by  Seneca, 
but  there  is  a  general  resemblance  of  style  throughout, 
and  probability  points  to  the  whole  collection  being  by 
the  same  author"  (p.  37).  See  also:  Baehrens,  P.  L.  M. 
vol.  iv.  pp.  34-36) .  The  epigrams  which  bear  the  cachet 
of  the  exile  are:  1,  2,  5,  15,  17,  19,  22,  25,  26,  29-36, 
43,  51.  Baehrens'  list  is  as  follows :  1-3,  6-36,  51,  52,  57, 
71-73. 

I  have  already  quoted  excerpts  from  the  epigrams  bear- 
ing on  the  exile  period,  and  shall  here  give  a  precis  of  a 
few  not  mentioned  elsewhere,  or  briefly  alluded  to. 

The  first  epigram  is  in  harmony  with  the  mood  one 
might  naturally  look  for  in  one  in  exile,  although  it  can- 
not be,  with  certainty,  ascribed  to  the  exile  years.  'Cor- 
roding time  feeds  on  everything;  nothing  is  permitted  to 
exist  for  a  long  time;  rivers,  the  sea,  mountains  pass 
away.  Even  the  sky  and  earth  will  suddenly  be  con- 
sumed in  fire.' 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  23 

The  second  and  third  epigrams  "de  Corsica,"  obviously 
penned  in  exile,  are  bitter  execrations  of  his  place  of 
exile.  They  were  written  after  his  Stoic  ardor  had  been 
dampened  by  ennui  and  yearning  for  the  home-city. 

The  fifth,  "De  quieta  vita,"  appeals  to  Phoebus  to  ward 
off  riches.  Seneca  bids  others  seek  praetorships,  renown, 
commands  of  fleets,  camps,  a  province.  He  will  be  con- 
tent with  poverty  and  verse.  No  day  shall  be  without 
his  brother.  His  wish  is  that  his  two  brothers  may 
survive  him.  (Seneca  had  held  the  quaestorship  before 
his  exile). 

The  sixth,  "Parcendum  misero,"  is  an  appeal  to  a  per- 
sonal enemy  to  have  done  with  his  mordant  attacks  upon 
one  already  buried. 

The  fifteenth,  "Ad  amicum  optimum,"  is  addressed  to 
Crispus,  flattering  him,  with  a  view  to  using  his  influence 
to  secure  a  recall.  (See  chapter  "The  Recall.") 

In  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth,  Seneca  counsels  the 
shunning  of  friendship  with  kings,  mighty  masters,  and 
persons  of  note.  The  words  "Maximus  hie  scopulus" 
and  the  general  nature  of  the  two  poems  point  to  the 
exile  period. 

I  have  already  quoted  the  nineteenth,  in  which  he  com- 
pares his  own  suffering  to  that  experienced  by  his  own 
native  Corduba. 

Verses  excoriating  Seneca  give  occasion  for  the  twenty- 
second  epigram  "In  eum  qui  maligne  iocatur."  Seneca 
says  that  his  defamer's  verses  are  filled  with  deadly  poi- 
son, but  that  the  heart  of  the  writer  is  even  blacker 
than  his  verses.  It  is  no  jest  to  be  "malignus." 

The  longest  of  the  epigrams,  the  twenty-fifth,  "De 
spe,"  reads  like  practise  verse  of  the  exile,  playing  about 
the  hope  of  his  own  recall,  without,  however,  specifically 
mentioning  it. 

The  twenty-sixth  is  another  rejoinder  "Ad  malivolum." 

Epigrams  twenty-nine  to  thirty-six,  I  shall  discuss  in 
the  chapter  on  "The  Recall." 

Epigram  forty-three  previsions  his  home-going.  'He 
will  seek  the  country,  shun  warfare,  the  "sellae  curules." 
He  will  be  one  of  the  people,  seeking  no  honor,  a  master 
of  his  own  time.' 

In  the  fifty-first,  "De  fratris  filio  parvulo,"  he  voices 


24  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

the  wish  that  his  brothers  may  survive  him,  and  may 
feel  no  grief  for  him  except  for  his  death ;  that  they  may 
rival  one  another  in  affection,  and  that  the  little  Marcus 
may  emulate  his  uncles  in  eloquence.  Palpably,  the 
brothers  are  Mela  and  Novatus,  and  Marcus  the  son  of 
the  philosopher  himself. 

A  minor  problem  in  connection  with  Seneca's  exile  is 
whether  Caesennius  (Caesonius)  Maximus  accompanied 
the  philosopher  into  exile.    The  passage  in  Martial  from 
which  the  conjecture  is  made  is  as  follows : 
"Maximus  ille  tuus,  Ovidi,  Caesonius  hie  est, 

cuius  adhuc  vultum  vivida  cera  tenet, 
hunc  Nero  damnavit:  sed  tu  damnare  Neronem 

ausus  es  et  prof ugi,  non  tua,  fata  sequi : 
aequora  per  Scyllae  magnus  comes  exulis  isti, 

qui  modo  nolueras  consulis  ire  comes. 
Si  victura  meis  mandantur  nomina  chartis 

et  fas  est  cineri  me  superesse  meo : 
audiet  hoc  praesens,  venturaqUe  turba  fuisse 

illi  te,  Senecae  quod  fuit  ille  suo"  (vii.  xliv.) 

Compare  also : 

"Facundi  Senecae  potens  amicus, 
caro  proximus  aut  prior  Sereno, 
hie  est  Maximus  ille,  quern  frequenti 
felix  littera  pagina  salutat"  (ib.  xlv.) 

From  these  epigrams  we  gather  that  Caesonius  was 
not  only  a  very  dear  friend  of  Seneca,  but  that  very 
many  letters  were  written  to  him,  which,  when  pub- 
lished, attracted  much  notice.  (See  Leopold  p.  140). 

What  Martial  says  about  the  intimacy  between  Seneca 
and  Caesonius  is  corroborated  by  Tacitus,  who  says  that 
Caesonius  was  kept  from  Italy  as  being  a  "conscius"  of 
the  Pisonian  conspiracy,  and  by  Seneca  himself  (Epist. 
87.2)  who  tells  of  a  journey  taken  by  him  with  a  "Maxi- 
mum suum"  (cf .  also  the  epigrams  on  Caesonius) . 

Teuffel  (R.  L.  G.  287.1)  things  it  is  possible  that 
Caesonius  accompanied  Seneca  to  Corsica.  Lehmann 
(p.  156)  assumes  that  it  is  true:  "Caesonius  Maximus 
begleitete  ihn  an  den  Schauplatz  seines  Elendes  und 
blieb  dort  sein  treuer  Gefsehrte."  Friedlsender  (on 
Martial,  vii.  44)  diasagrees  with  Teuffel  and  considers 
it  very  unlikely,  as  does  Schanz  (R.  L.  G.  452). 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  25 

3 

THE  TECHNICAL  NATURE  OF  SENECA'S  EXILE 

Seneca's  exile,  like  that  of  Ovid,  was  technically  "rele- 
gatio,"  that  is,  "deportatio  ad  insulam,"  without  the  loss 
of  civil  rights,  and  with  or  without  the  loss  of  property. 
That  Seneca's  exile  was  "relegatio"  is  certain.  He  him- 
self says :  "intellego  me  non  opes — perdidisse"  (ad  Helv. 
x.  2).  The  scholiast  on  Juvenal  v.  109  uses  the  verb 
"relegatus — est."  However,  whether  Seneca's  property 
was  confiscated  or  not,  as  a  result  of  relegation,  is  not 
clear.  The  words  of  Seneca,  quoted  above,  would  lead 
one  to  suppose  that  he  had  retained  his  property;  more- 
over, elsewhere  (ad  Helv.  xii.  4),  he  says:  "me  quidem, 
quotiens  ad  antiqua  exempla  respexi,  paupertatis  uti 
solaciis  pudet,  quoniam  quidem  eo  temporum  luxuria  pro- 
lapsa  est,  ut  maius  viaticum  exulum  sit,  quam  olim  patri- 
monium  principum  fuit."  This  may  have  been  written 
in  the  hope  that  it  reach  the  eyes  of  the  Emperor. 
Farrar  (p.  84)  thinks  that  his  property  was  not  confis- 
cated; Leopold  (pp.  145-7)  that  it  was.  Seneca's  exile 
was  at  least  accompanied  with  the  loss  of  "pecunia." 
"omnia  ilia,  quae  in  me  indulgentissime  conferebat, 
pecuniam,  honores,  gratiam,  eo  loco  posui,  unde  posset 
sine  motu  meo  repetere. — itaque  abstulit  ilia,  non  avolsit" 
(ad  Helv.  v.  4) . 

Note  also  the  lines:  "nullum  ergo  paupertas  exulis 
incommodum  habet ;  nullum  enim  tarn  inops  exilium  est, 
quod  non  alendo  homini  abunde  fertile  sit"  (ib.  x.  11). 

The  decree  against  Seneca  was  passed  by  the  Senate, 
and  at  first  involved  the  death  penalty;  but  through  the 
offices  of  Claudius  it  was  changed  to  relegation  to  Cor- 
sica: "deprecatus  (Claudius)  est  pro  me  senatum  et 
vitam  mini  non  tantum  dedit  sed  etiam  petiit"  (ad 
Polyb.  xiii.  2) .  Claudius  may  have  changed  the  sentence, 
because  of  his  penchant  for  literature;  or  Agrippina  or 
one  of  the  freedmen  may  have  interceded  for  him 
(Farrar  p.  84). 

Ovid  (Trist.  v.  11)  describes  himself  as  "relegatus." 
He  uses  language  similar  to  that  of  Seneca :  "nee  vitam, 
nee  opes,  nee  ius  mihi  civis  ademit."  (cf.  also  ad  Helv. 
x.  2) . 


26  SENECA  IN   CORSICA 

The  nature  of  "relgatio"  is  made  clear  in  Justinian, 
quoting  Marcianus:  "Relegati  in  insulam  in  potestate 
sua  liberos  retinent,  quia  et  alia  omnia  iura  sua  retinent : 
tantum  enim  insula  eis  egredi  non  licet,  et  bona  quoque 
sua  omnia  retinent  praeter  ea,  si  qua  eis  adempta  sunt: 
nam  eorum  qui  in  perpetuum  exilium  dati  sunt  vel  rele- 
gati,  potest  quis  sententia  partem  bonorum  adimere" 
(Digesta  xxxxviii.  XXII.  4  p.  859,  vol.  ii.  Mommsen). 

Again,  quoting  Ulpianus:  "et  multum  interest  inter 
relegationem  et  deportationem :  nam  deportatio  et  civi- 
tatem  et  bona  adimit,  relegatio  utrumque  conservat, 
nisi  bona  publicentur"  (ib.  14,  p.  861). 

4 
CORSICA 

It  is  not  within  the  purview  of  this  work  to  descant 
on  the  history  of  Corsica.  What  Seneca,  however,  during 
his  exile,  and  the  contemporary  of  his  boyhood,  the 
geographer,  Strabo,  have  to  say  of  the  island  is  pat  to  the 
subject. 

In  determining  the  earliest  peoples  we  are  handicapped 
because  we  have  no  inscriptional  evidence  until  the  mid- 
dle ages  (Pigorini  Bullet,  di.  paletnol.  ital.  1877,  178- 
185). 

Huelsen  (Pauly-Wissowa:  Corsica)  thinks  that  the 
original  inhabitants  were  of  Iberian  stock.  Gaius  Julius 
Solinus  (Collectanea  Kerum  Memorabilium,  3,  p.  49, 
Mommsen) ,  whose  source,  according  to  Huelsen,  may  be 
Suetonius,  ascribes  the  earliest  inhabitants  to  the  Ligu- 
rians.  This  seems  probable,  and  gives  point  to  the  story 
of  the  Ligurian  woman,  named  Corsa,  who  noted  that  a 
bull  in  the  herd  under  her  care  on  the  coast  was  accus- 
tomed to  swim  over  the  sea,  and  return  with  an  increase 
of  flesh.  She  followed  it  the  next  time  it  left  the  herd, 
and  arrived  in  a  skiff  at  the  island,  to  which  the  bull  had 
swum.  The  Ligurians  then  went  over  to  the  island,  nam- 
ing it  Corsica  after  her  (Sallust:  Historiarum  Frag- 
menta  Lib.  ii.  Kritzius,  p.  129,  note) .  The  story  was  in- 
vented, of  course,  to  explain  the  name  and  the  people. 
The  Greeks  called  the  island  Cyrnos. 

Seneca  informs  us  that  the  Ligurians  came    to    the 


SENECA  IN  CORSICA  27 

islands  after  the  Phocaeans  left  for  Massilia.  He  admits 
that  knowledge  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  is  clouded  by 
antiquity.  I  quote  his  own  words :  haec  ipsa  insula  saepe 
iam  cultores  mutavit.  ut  antiquiora,  quae  vetustas  ob- 
duxit,  transeam,  Phocide  relicta  Graii,  qui  nunc  Massi- 
liam  incolunt,  prius  in  hac  insula  consederunt,  ex  qua 
quid  eos  fugaverit,  incertum  est — transieurunt  deinde 
Ligures  in  earn,  transierunt  et  Hispani, — "  (ad  Helv. 
vii.  8.9).  Note:  "Corsica  Phocaico  tellus  habitata  co- 
lono"  (P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  2). 

The  Phocaeans  visited  the  island  on  two  occasions.  On 
their  first  visit,  they  founded  the  city  of  Alalia  (564 
B.  C.),  and  twenty  years  afterward,  in  consequence  of 
the  Chians'  refusal  to  sell  them  the  Cenyssae  islands,  set 
out  for  Cyrnus  (Corsica).  Half  their  number  defected, 
but  the  remainder  lived  in  Corsica  for  five  years,  until 
the  Carthaginians  and  Etruscans  made  common  cause 
against  them,  when  they  sailed  away,  first  to  Rhegium 
(Herod.  1.165-7),  and  then  to  Hyela  in  Oenotria. 

Strabo,  quoting  Antiochus,  states  that  when  Harpagus, 
the  general  of  Cyrus,  took  Phocaea,  those  who  could, 
sailed  away,  first  to  Corsica,  then  to  Massilia,  but  being 
driven  from  there,  founded  Elea  (or  Velia,  founded  532 
B.  C.,  mentioned  by  Horace  Epist.  1  xv.  1). 

We  are  left  in  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  character  of  the 
natives.  The  mountain  dwellers,  according  to  Strabo 
(224.7) ,  were  more  savage  than  beasts.  Their  truculence 
was  remarked  when  they  appeared  in  Rome  as  slaves. 
They  made  their  livelihood  by  brigandage.  Strabo  tries 
to  soften  the  picture  by  mentioning  some  habitable  cities. 
Seneca  strengthens  the  picture :  "quid  ad  homines  inman- 
suetius?"  (ad  Helv.  vi.  5). 

The  people  spoke  a  patois,  as  we  should  naturally  sus- 
pect where  the  population  was  changing  all  the  time. 
Seneca,  a  Spaniard  by  birth,  noted  Spanish  elements  in 
it,  and  remarked  Spanish  dress  and  rites  among  his 
neighbors:  " — transierunt  et  Hispani,  quod  ex  similitu- 
dine  ritus  apparet:  eadem  enim  tegmenta  capitum 
idemque  genus  calciamenti  quod  Cantabris  est,  et  verba 
quaedam;  nam  totus  sermo  conversatione  Graecorum 
Ligurumque  a  patrio  descivit"  (ad  Helv.  vii.  9). 

Seneca's  curiosity  during  the  earlier  days  of  the  exile, 


28  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

was  aroused  by  the  novelty  of  the  language;  but  this 
curiosity  had  already  become  moribund  at  the  time  of  the 
writing  of  the  "ad  Polybium":  " — cogita,— quam  non 
facile  latina  ei  homini  verba  succurrant,  quern  barbaro- 
rum  inconditus  et  barbaris  quoque  humanioribus  gravis 
fremitus  circumsonat"  (ad  Polyb.  xviii.  9). 

Foreign  peoples  had  some  reason  for  their  reluctance 
to  linger  at  Corsica.  The  Phocaeans,  to  be  sure,  had  good 
reason  to  leave,  albeit  they  had  a  nominal  victory  over 
the  Carthago-Etruscan  coalition.  Seneca  expresses  his 
uncertainty  as  to  why  they  left:  "incertum  est,  utrum 
caeli  gravitas  an  praepotentis  Italiae  conspectus  an 
natura  inportuosi  maris;  nam  in  causa  non  fuisse  feri- 
tatem  accolarum  eo  apparet,  quod  maxime  tune  trucibus 
et  inconditis  Galliae  populis  se  interposuerunt"  (ad  Helv. 
vii.  8). 

As  in  our  day,  so  in  Seneca's,  cattle  raising  was  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  people,  while  husbandry  was  neglected. 
Seneca,  whose  statements  of  the  productivity  of  the  island 
do  not  square  with  those  who  Pliny  (N.  H.  16  71), 
places  Corsica  cheek-by-jowl  with  Sciathus,  Seriphus, 
and  Gyarus  as  "deserta  loca  et  asperrimas  insulas, — quid 
tarn  nudum  inveniri  potest,  quid  tarn  abruptum  undique 
quam  hoc  saxum?  quid  ad  copias  respicienti  ieiunius?" 
(ad  Helv.  vi.  4.5). 

"  'at  non  est  haec  terra  frugiferarum  aut  laetarum  ar- 
borum  ferax;  non  magnis  nee  navigalibus  fluminum  al- 
veis  inrigatur;  nihil  gignit,  quod  aliae  gentes  petant,  vix 
ad  tutelam  incolentium  fertilis;'  "  (ad  Helv.  ix.  1). 

"Barbara  praeruptis  inclusa  est  Corsica  saxis, 

Horrida,  desertis  undique  vasta  locis. 
Non  poma  autumnus,  segetes  non  educat  aestas 

Canaque  Palladio  munere  bruma  caret. 
Imbriferarum  nullo  ver  est  laetabile  fetu 

Nullaque  in  infausto  nascitur  horba  solo. 
Non  panis,  non  haustus  aquae,  non  ultimus  ignis: 

Hie  sola  haec  duo  sunt,  exul  et  exilium" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  3). 

Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  Corsica  as  an:  "aridum  et 
spinosum  saxum"  (ad  Helv.  vii.  9).  "quid  ad  ipsum  loci 
situm  horridius?  quid  ad  caeli  naturam  intemperantius  ?" 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  29 

(ad  Helv.  vi.  5).    We  must  remember  that  these  words 
were  colored  by  the  tedium  of  exile. 

5 

THE  RECALL 

After  a  few  months  of  Stoic  fortitude,  Seneca  began 
to  play  lick-spittle  to  the  powerful  Polybius  to  effect  his 
recall.  Of  Polybius,  Suetonius  (Claud.  28)  writes:  "ac 
super  hos  Polybium  ab  studiis,  qui  saepe  inter  duos  con- 
sules  ambulabat;"  He  was,  therefore,  a  fitting  subject 
for  Seneca's  flatteries,  intended  ultimately  to  reach  the 
eyes  of  Caesar  also.  Canon  Farrar  (p.  103)  thinks  that 
it  is  very  improbable  that  Seneca  intended  the  letter  (ad 
Polybium)  to  be  published. 

Dio  (60.10)  mentions  a  letter,  sent  from  Corsica, 
cringing  to  Messalina  and  the  freedmen  of  Claudius. 
Seneca  was  latterly  so  ashamed  of  it  that  he  suppressed 
it.  Jonas  (De  Ordine  Librorum  L.  Annael  Senecae 
Philosophi  p.  33)  has  this  to  say  of  the  passage  in  Dio: 
"Saepius  iam  viri  docti  inter  se  disputaverunt,  utrum 
Cassius  Dio  hie  ad  consolationem  ad  Polybium  datam 
spectaverit,  an  Seneca  plures  libellos  supplices,  ut  ita 
dicam,  ad  Claudii  libertos  ex  Corsica  miserit,  neque  ego 
rem  diiudicare  audeo.  Nam  initio  consolationis  ad  Poly- 
bium scriptse  amisso  utrum  in  ea  Messalinam  quoque  et 
praeter  Polybium  alios  libertos  Claudii  adulatus  sit 
necne,  haud  facile  decernas.  Quod  autem  Seneca  scriptum 
a  Dione  commemoratum,  ut  adulationis  suse  documenta 
exstingueret,  ipse  delevisse  dicitur,  salva  Dionis  fide  ut 
unum  exemplar  commune  excidium  effugeret  fieri  potuit. 
Sed  quod  potuit  fieri,  id  factum  esse  necesse  non  est.  Ita- 
que  satis  habeo  exposuisse,  quam  argutiores  diiudicent." 

The  adulatory  passages  in  the  "ad  Polybium"  are 
many.  1  shall  note  the  more  striking.  It  is  for  the  death 
of  Polybius's  brother  that  Seneca  would  console  him: 
"luget  Polybius,  et  in  uno  fratre  quid  de  reliquis  possit 
metuere  admonitus  etiam  de  ipsis  doloris  sui  solaciis 
timet.  f acinus  indignum!  luget  Polybius  et  aliquid  pro- 
pitio  dolet  Caesare!  hoc  sine  dubio,  impotens  fortuna, 
captasti,  ut  ostenderes  neminen  contra  te  ne  a  Caesare 
quidem  posse  defendi'  "  (ad  Polyb.  iii.  5) . 


30  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

"non  licet  tibi,  inquam,  flere :  ut  multos  flentes  audire 
possis,  ut  periclitantium  et  ad  misericordiam  mitissimi 
Caesaris  pervenire  cupientium  facrimas  siccare,  lacrimae 
tibi  tuae  adsiccandae  sunt"  (ib.  vi.  5). 

"cum  voles  omnium  rerum  oblivisci,  Caesarem  cogita" 
(ib.  vii.  1). 

"fas  tibi  non  est  salvo  Caesare  de  fortuna  queri :  hoc 
incolumni  salvi  tibi  sunt  tui,  nihil  perdidisti,  non  tantum 
siccos  oculos  tuos  esse  sed  etiam  laetos  oportet; — "  (ib. 
vii.  4). 

When  Polybius  returns  home,  his  sadness  will  prey 
upon  him,  but  " — quam  diu  numen  tuum  (i.  e.  Claudium) 
intueberis,  nullum  ilia  ad  te  inveniet  accessum,  omnia  in 
te  Caesar  tenebit; — "  (ib.  viii.  1).  He  reaches  the  nadir 
of  self-abasement  in  the  lines:  "attolle  te  et  quotiens 
lacrimae  suboriuntur  oculis  tuis,  totiens  illos  in  Caesarem 
derige :  siccabuntur  maximi  et  clarissimi  conspectu  num- 
inis; — "  (ib.  xii.  3). 

Seneca's  mention  of  Claudius's  "tenacissima  memoria" 
(ib.  xiv.  1)  might  lead  one  to  suppose  that  Seneca  wrote 
the  letter  to  jest  at  the  Emperor's  expense ;  but  the  gen- 
eral tone  of  the  letter  is  against  this  interpretation. 

Seneca  hopes  to  be  a  spectator  of  the  triumph  of 
Claudius:  "quorum  me  quoque  spectatorem  futurum, 
quae  ex  virtutibus  eius  primum  optinet  locum,  promittit 
dementia,  nee  enim  sic  me  deiecit,  ut  nollet  erigere, 
immo  ne  deiecit  quidem  sed  impulsum  a  fortuna  et  caden- 
tem  sustinuit  et  in  praeceps  euntem  leniter  divinae 
manus  usus  moderatione  deposuit:"  (ad  Polyb.  xiii.  2). 
We  know  from  Suetonius  that  Claudius  allowed  certain 
exiles  to  return  to  Rome  for  the  triumph :  "ad  cuius  spec- 
taculum  commeare  in  urbem — etiam  exulibus  quibusdam; 
— "  (Claud.  17.3). 

Seneca  has  no  fear  that  Claudius's  compassion  will  pass 
him  by: — "quae  cum  ex  ipso  angulo,  in  quo  ego  defixus 
sum,  complures  multorum  iam  annorum  ruina  obrutos 
effoderit  et  in  lucem  reduxerit,  non  vereor  ne  me  unum 
transeat"  (ad  Polyb.  xiii.  3) . 

Lehmann  (Claudius  und  Nero,  p.  10)  sets  the  date  of 
the  "ad  Polybium"  toward  the  close  of  43  A.  D.  or  the 
beginning  of  44  A.  D.,  on  the  ground  that  Seneca  hoped 
to  see  the  triumph  for  the  military  victories  in  Britain : 


SENECA  IN  CORSICA  31 

"hie  Germaniam  pacet,  Britanniam  aperiat,  et  patrios 
triumphos  ducat  et  novos:"  (ad  Polyb.  xiii.  2).  It  is 
difficult  to  quadrate  this  conclusion  with  the  lines  occur- 
ring at  the  end  of  the  letter:  "Haec,  utcumque  potui, 
longo  iam  situ  obsolete  et  hebetato  animo  composui"  (ad 
Polyb.  xviii.  9).  The  exile  may  have  seemed  long  to 
Seneca  after  so  short  a  time,  but  it  may  be  rather  that 
Seneca  composed  the  earlier  part  of  the  letter  in  43  A.  D., 
and  added  the  conclusion  later.  Jonas  (p.  31)  says  of 
this:  "Neque  vero  ilia  Senecae  verba  ad  initium  bello- 
rum  cum  Germanis  Britannisque  gestorum  referri  neces- 
se  est.  Nam  quod  optat  Seneca,  ut  Claudius  'Germaniam 
pacet — novos,'  hoc  unum  probat  eo  tempore,  quo  haec 
scripta  sunt,  nondum  ista  bella  finita  fuisse  neque  trium- 
phos actos  esse.  Atqui  triumphavit  Claudius  anno  quad- 
ragesimo  quarto  p.  Chr.  n.  hoc  est  tribus  fere  annis  post 
Senecam  in  exilium  eiectum.  Quare  omnia  plena  atque 
dilucida  mihi  esse  videntur.  Quibus  temporibus  aptum 
est  etiam,  quod  in  fine  consolationis  earn  se  'longo  iam 
situ  etc.'  composuisse  ait." 

Contrast  these  quotations  with  the  "take-off"  of 
Claudius  by  Seneca  in  the  "Ludus,"  written  after 
Claudius's  death.  The  emperor's  arrival  into  Heaven  is 
announced:  "Nuntiatur  lovi  venisse  quendam  bonse 
staturae,  bene  canum;  nescio  quid  ilium  minari,  adsidue 
enim  caput  movere;  pedem  dextrum  trahere.  Quaesisse 
se,  cuius  nationis  esset:  respondisse  nescio  quid  pertur- 
bato  sono  et  voce  confusa;  non  intellegere  se  linguam 
eius,  nee  Graecum  esse  nee  Romanum  nee  ullius  gentis 
notae"  (Apocolocyntosis  v.  2). 

Augustus  addresses  Claudius  and  the  gods  thus :  "Tu 
Messalinam, — occidisti. — C.  Csesarem  non  desiit  mortuum 
persequi.  Oceiderat  ille  socerum:  hie  et  generum.  Gaius 
Crassi  filium  vetuit  Magnum  vocari:  hie  nomen  illi 
redditit,  caput  tulit. — Hunc  nunc  deum  facere  vultis? 
Videte  corpus  eius  dis  iratis  natum"  (ib.  xi.  1.2.3). 

Seneca's  flatteries  of  Polybius  are  concerned  mainly 
with  his  literary  gifts: 

"quam  diu  fuerit  ullus  litteris  honor,  quam  diu  steterit 
aut  Latinae  linguae  potentia  aut  Graecae  gratia,  vigebit 
cum  maximis  viris,  quorum  se  ingeniis  vel  contulit  vel, 
si  hoc  verecundia  eius  recusat,  applicuit"  (ad  Polyb.  ii. 
6). 


32  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

He  flatters  Polybius  by  touching  upon  his  influence 
with  the  Emperor:  "numquam  ille  (i.  e.  Polybi  frater) 
te  fratrem  ulli  minatus  est;  ad  exemplum  se  modestiae 
tuae  formaverat  cogitabatque,  quantum  tu  et  ornamen- 
tum  tuorum  esse  et  onus:  suffecit  ille  huic  sarcinae" 
(ib.  iii.  2). 

"neminem  esse  toto  orbe  terrarum,  qui  delectetur  lacri- 
mis  tuis,  audacter  dixerim"  (ib.  v.  2.) 

"magnam  tibi  personam  hominum  consensus  imposuit" 
(ib.  vi.  1). 

"in  multa  luce  fortuna  te  posuit;"  (ib.  vi.  2). 

"olim  te  in  altiorem  ordinem  et  amor  Caesaris  extulit 
et  tua  studia  eduxerunt.  nihil  te  plebeium  decet,  nihil 
humile"  (ib.  vi.  2). 

"audienda  sunt  tot  hominum  milia,  tot  disponendi 
libelli ;  tantus  rerum  ex  orbe  toto  coeuntium  congestus,  ut 
possit  per  ordinem  suum  principis  maximi  animo  subici, 
exigendus  est"  (ib.  vi.  5). 

"tune  Homerus  et  Vergilius  tarn  bene  de  humano 
genere  meriti,  quam  tu  et  de  illis  et  de  omnibus  meruisti, 
quos  pluribus  notos  esse  voluisti  quam  scripserant,  mul- 
tum  tecum  morentur:"  (ib.  viii.  2). 

Seneca  requests  Polybius  to  compile  an  account  of 
Caesar's  deeds,  that  they  may  be  read  by  all  future  ages. 
He  suggests  the  writing,  in  Polybius's  elegant  style,  of  a 
version  of  the  fables  of  Aesop  (ib.  viii.  2.3). 

Polybius  intrigued  with  the  Empress  Messalina,  who 
finally  turned  against  him  and  effected  his  death  (Dio 
Ix.  31.2). 

It  is  tempting  to  try  to  palliate  Seneca's  flatteries  and 
whinings.  He  had  lost  his  wife ;  one  of  his  sons  had  died 
a  few  weeks  before  his  exile  (ad  Helv.  ii.  5)  ;  he  had 
suffered  from  illness  from  childhood  (Epist.  liiii.  ff.)  ;  his 
political  career  had  been  beshadowed  by  the  jealousy  of 
Gaius.  If  we  compare  Seneca's  indecorous  plaints  and 
cringing  with  the  laments  of  Ovid  from  Tomi  or  the  let- 
ters of  Cicero  during  the  exile  period,  the  philosopher 
suffers  little. 

Eight  of  the  epigrams  attributed  to  Seneca  trumpet 
the  praises  of  Claudius  for  the  conquest  of  Britain  (P. 
L.  M.  vol.  iv  29-36),  a  feat  which  Suetonius  assures  us 
was  nothing  remarkable  (Claud.  17.1). 


SENECA  IN   CORSICA  33 

The  language  of  the  epigrams  is  extravagant.  'A  land 
never  before  outraged  by  Ausonian  triumphs,  falls, 
struck  by  Caesar's  bolts ;  a  fabulous  land ;  hidden  in  mid- 
ocean'  (29) .  'Britain  is  fortunate  in  sharing  Caesar  with 
the  Romans'  (32).  He  invokes  Mars,  Quirinus,  and  the 
two  Caesars  to  behold  Britain  under  Latin  sway  (34), 
conquered  at  the  sight  of  Caesar  (36). 

Seneca  hoped  to  enlist  for  his  recall  the  favor  of  his 
friend,  the  orator,  Passienus  Crispus,  the  husband  of 
Agrippina.  He  composed  an  epigram,  the  purport  of 
which  is  patent : 

"Ad  amicum  optimum 

Crispe,  meae  vires  lapsarumque  ancora  rerum, 
Crispe,  vel  antique  conspiciende  foro, 

Crispe,  potens  numquam,  nisi  cum  prodesse  volebas, 
Naufragio  litus  tutaque  terra  meo, 

Solus  honor  nobis,  arx  et  tutissima  nobis 
Et  nunc  afflicto  sola  quies  animo, 

Crispe,  fides  dulcis,  placideque  acerrima  virtus, 
Cuius  Cecropio  pectora  melle  madent, 

Maxima  facundo  vel  avo  vel  gloria  patri, 
Quo  solo  careat  si  quis,  in  exilio  est : 

Incultae  iaceo  saxis  telluris  adhaerens, 

Mens  tecum  est,  nulla  quae  cohibetur  humo" 

(P.  L.  M.  vol.  iv.  15). 

Jonas  (p.  30)  dates  this  epigram  in  the  consulship  of 
Passienus  Crispus,  44  A.  D.  Passienus  was  hardly  in  a 
position  to  help,  as  his  consulship  lasted  but  a  few 
months.  Furthermore,  his  wife,  Agrippina,  was  looked 
upon  with  suspicion  in  the  court  circles. 

Seneca's  recall  was  not  expedited  by  these  studied 
flatteries,  but  came  by  a  good  turn  of  fate.  An  unheard 
of  thing  happened.  Messalina,  with  heady  recklessness, 
had  so  far  debased  herself  as  to  have  a  marriage  cere- 
mony performed  (48  A.  D.)  with  the  fascinating  young 
consul-elect,  Gaius  Silius,  while  Claudius  was  at  Osia, 
assisting  at  a  sacrifice  (Tac.  Ann.  ii.  37),  or  inspecting 
a  grain  supply  (Dio  60.48) .  It  would  seem  that  Claudius 
was  privy  to  the  irregularity,  had  divorced  Messalina, 
and  had  actually  signed  the  legal  papers  transferring  her 
dowry  to  Silius,  on  the  ground  that  the  marriage  was  a 
feigned  one  and  was  necessary  to  avert  some  danger  from 


34  SENECA  IN   CORSICA 

himself :  "nam  illud  omnem  fidem  excesserit  quod  nuptiis, 
quas  Messalina  cum  adultero  Silio  fecerat,  tabellas  dotis 
et  ipse  consignaverit, — '  (Suet.  Claud.  29.3). 

Tacitus  (Ann.  ix.  27)  expresses  his  own  consciousness 
of  the  fictitious  character  of  the  story. 

Baring-Gould  (vol.  ii.  p.  498)  gives  this  explanation: 
"Messalina  from  first  to  last  had  believed  that  in  herself 
lay  a  higher  right  to  represent  the  Caesars  than  rested 
in  Claudius,  in  that  two  streams  of  the  Julian  blood  met 
in  her  veins.  She  was  weary  and  disgusted  with  her 
half-witted  old  husband,  and  she  was  well  aware  that  a 
large  party  among  the  nobles  was  impatient  of  his  rule. 
She  was  madly  in  love  with  C.  Silius,  consul-designate  for 
the  ensuing  year,  and  she  determined  by  a  bold  stroke  to 
cause  a  revolution.  Whilst  her  husband  was  from  Rome, 
she  hoped  to  rouse  the  people  and  the  guards,  place  her- 
self and  Silius  at  their  head,  and  put  Claudius  to  death. 
But  in  order  that  this  should  be  effected  it  was  necessary 
that  her  lover  should  be  united  to  her  legally." 

Claudius  was  terrified  at  Narcissus's  suggestion  that 
Messalina  purposed  to  make  way  with  him  and  set  up 
Silius  as  emperor:  "Messalinae — amorem — periculi 
metu  abiecit,  cum  adultero  Silio  adquiri  imperium  credi- 
disset; — "  (Suet.  Claud.  36).  Silius  was  put  to  death. 
Narcissus,  knowing  well  his  imperial  master,  engineered 
the  murder  of  Messalina  before  the  amorous  Claudius,  in 
his  cups,  should  experience  a  renascence  of  his  passion 
for  his  wife.  Had  Claudius  been  given  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  Messalina's  account — that  it  was  a  mere  escapade 
— Seneca  might  not  have  been  recalled. 

The  choice  of  a  wife  for  Claudius  was  a  determining 
factor  in  the  recall  of  Seneca.  The  selection  lay  between 
Lollia  Paulina,  a  daughter  of  Marcus  Lollius,  and  for  a 
short  time  the  wife  of  Gaius  (Suet.  Calig.  25.2),  the 
choice  of  Callistus ;  Julia  Agrippina,  the  daughter  of  Ger- 
manicus,  sister  of  Gaius  and  Julia  Livilla,  the  choice  of 
Pallas;  and  Aelia  Paetina,  a  former  wife  of  Claudius 
(Suet.  Caud.  26.2),  the  choice  of  Narcissus.  Agrippina, 
with  settled  purpose  to  carve  a  passage  to  the  throne  for 
her  son,  hung  out  lures  for  Claudius  (Dio  60.51).  Of 
this  Suetonius  writes:  "verum  inlecebris  Agrippinae, 
Germanici  fratris  sui  filise,  per  ius  osculi  et  blanditiarum 


SENECA  IN  CORSICA  35 

occasiones  pellectus  in  amorem, — "  (Claud.  26.3).  A 
law  was  passed,  making  it  legal  for  an  uncle  to  marry  his 
niece  (Tac.  Ann.  xii.  1.2.3;  Suet.  Claud.  26.3).  Claudius 
married  Agrippina,  and  soon  afterward,  her  son,  Domi- 
tius,  was  adopted  by  the  Emperor  as  Nero. 

The  year  of  the  recall  was  49  A.  D.,  for  Nero  was 
placed  under  Seneca's  care  six  years  before  his  accession 
(54  A.  D.):  '  'quartus  decimus  annus  est,  Caesar,  ex  quo 
spei  tuae  admotus  sum,  octavus  ut  imperium  obtines:'" 
(Seneca  in  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  53).  The  scholiast  on  Juvenal 
v.  109  makes  the  exile  period  three  years  in  length.  This 
is  clearly  incorrect.  (See  chapter  "Seneca  Relegated  To 
Corsica") . 

Of  Seneca's  recall  Tacitus  writes:  "at  Agrippina  ne 
malis  tantum  facinoribus  notesceret  veniam  exilii  pro 
Annaeo  Seneca,  simul  praeturam  impetrat,  laetum  in 
publicum  rata  ob  claritudinem  studiorum  eius,  utque 
Domitii  pueritia  tali  magistro  adolesceret  et  consiliis  eius- 
dem  ad  spem  dominationis  uterentur,  quia  Seneca  fidus  in 
Agrippinam  memoria  beneficii  et  infensus  Claudio  dolore 
iniurias  credebatur"  (Ann.  xii.  8). 

Suetonius  places  the  appointment  after  the  adoption  in 
50  A.  D. :  "undecimo  aetatis  anno  a  Claudio  adoptatus 
est  Annaeoque  Senecae  iam  tune  senatori  in  disciplinam 
traditus"  (Nero  7.1). 

There  were  cogent  reasons  for  Agrippina's  interest  in 
the  recall  of  Seneca.  She  was  already  planning  to  secure 
the  throne  for  her  son,  Domitius,  and  saw  in  Seneca  the 
most  suitable  person  to  aid  her  cause.  Nero,  up  to  this  time, 
had  been  ill-tutored,  for  a  barber  and  a  dancer  were 
hardly  fitted  to  train  a  potential  emperor.  Seneca  was 
acknowledged  the  most  striking  figure  in  the  capital — 
the  greatest  philosopher,  author,  orator.  Who  could  bet- 
ter fill  the  position  as  mentor  of  the  young  Nero?  The 
furtherance  of  her  designs  necessitated  getting  Claudius 
out  of  the  way.  Despite  Seneca's  unctuous  flatteries  in 
the  "ad  Polybium,"  he,  with  good  reason,  loathed 
Claudius  and  his  courtiers;  so,  by  recalling  Seneca,  she 
would  have  him  bound  to  her  by  obligations.  Further- 
more, Seneca's  relegation  had  passed  as  a  political  move 
at  Rome,  and  to  recall  him  would  be  a  wise  step,  especi- 
ally since  her  cruelties  were  arousing  uneasiness  and 


36  SENECA  IN  CORSICA 

dread  in  the  city.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  too,  that  it 
was  on  account  of  Julia,  Agrippina's  sister,  that  he  had 
been  banished,  and  that  he  had  always  been  a  friend  of 
the  household,  against  which  he  had  refused  to  say  a 
word  at  the  trial. 

Canon  Farrar  has  suggested :  "It  might  perhaps  have 
been  better  for  Seneca's  happiness  if  he  had  never  left 
Corsica,  or  set  his  foot  again  in  that  Circean  and  blood- 
stained court"  (p.  115).  We  might  add  "for  his  reputa- 
tion also,"  for  still  uglier  charges  came  to  be  attached  to 
the  name  of  Seneca  after  he  had  become  the  adviser  of 
the  young  Domitius — charges  which  are  harder  to  excul- 
pate than  that  which  ostensibly  caused  his  exile. 


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